Tunnel.



A. S. MILLER.

TUNNEL.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.17, 1912.

1,086,779. Patented Feb. 10,1914.

Attest: .5 7mm,- Inventor:

' ALTER s. MILLER, or rLusmNo, 'nEw roan.

* TUNNEL. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 10, 19114.

Application filed December 17, 1912. Serial No. 787,174.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALTEN S. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at 7 Ash street, Flushing, Long Island, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented-certain new and useful Improvements in Tunnels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the transmission of water and other fluids through tunnels,

and its novelty consists in the construction and adaptation of the parts, as will be more fully hereinafter pointed out.

In engineering practice where a situation arises necessitating the driving of a tunnel which 'is to serve as. a means of conveying water or other fluid, it is necessary to provide the interior of the tunnel with a suitable lining in order to prevent erosion of its walls by the passage of the fluid and to reduce the friction caused by such passage, even although the rock 'or other material through which the tunnel is driven is itself impervious to the fluid. Good engineering practice also requires that the bore of a tunnel shall be shaped with -some regularity to conform to the dimensions required and that its walls shall be relatively smooth to reduce the friction.

This invention has for its object the reduction of the expense of boring such a tunnel'and providing for the passage of water through the same without danger of erosion and without unnecessary friction.

To that end it comprises the boring of a tunnel in what may be called rough outline; that is, making no attempt to finish its walls substantially to a smooth surface, but making it larger than the cross sectional area required for the passage of the water and providing for the direct passage of the water a conduit or pipe of relatively cheap material such as wood, or reinforced concrete, and which needs to have little strength and then providing means for preventing any damage or injury to the pipe arising from the weakness of such material and which means consists in brief of placing outeroding the latter, bulkheads or other means for preventing such flow are provided between the pipe and the tunnel walls atsuitable intervals,

Apertures are made in thewalls of the pipe whereby water passing through it can escape lnto the spaces between the pipe and tunnel walls and being prevented from flowmg along the exterior of the pipe'by means of the bulkheads, collects in independent bodles which surround or envelop the pipe and so provide the means for counteracting the pressures above stated. By this means there is secured for the water a conduit with a smooth continuous internal bore through which it can flow with little friction and no tendency to erosion, and which conduit may be cheaply made and which is saved from injury by means of the surrounding bodies of water. The walls of the tunnel may be very rough and the tunnel bore consequently may be drilled with a relatively small amount of unskilled labor.

In case the material through which the tunnel is bored is not impervious to water, the tunnel walls may be treated roughly with any suitable material to put it into such a condition of impermeability'.

In the drawing, there is illustrated an in- 'stallation of a tunnel and water pipe em bodying the invention. In this drawing, 1 represents the body of material through which the tunnel is driven; 2 represents the walls of the tunnel whichmay be left rough and in a relatively unfinished condition as to their unfinished surface, and 3 represents a pipe of relatively weak material such as wood or reinforced concrete which may be made in sections and put into position in any usual way.

4, 4 are bulkheads arranged between the exterior of the pipe 3 and the tunnel walls 2, and each of which forms a continuous web or partition across such space, and 5, 5 are apertures in the pipearranged at suitable intervals with reference to the positions of the bulkheads 4, 4. I

When the water tobe conducted through the pipe is caused to flow into it, it passes through the apertures 5-, 5, 5 into the space between the outside of the pipe and the tunnel walls and being stopped by the bulkheads 4, 4, fills such space; and, as the pressure throughout any body of fluid is always equal (the force of gravlty not being taken into account), it is obvious that the pressure of the bodies of water between the partitions or bulkheads and outside of the pipe will counteract or balance the pressure of the column of water passin through the pipe and that consequently t ere will be no de structive strains on the material of which the pipe is composed, and it will suffice for the purpose indicated for a long perlod of time. 7.

lVhile I have referred to water as the fluid to be passed through the installation in question, of course it will be understood that the device is of equal use with any other fluid underisimilar circumstances.

What I claim as new is:

1. A tunnel for the passage of liquid, comprising confining walls that are substantially impervious to the liquid, a pipe for containing and directing the body of the liquid flowing through the tunnel, said pipe belng located within the tunnel walls in spaced relation thereto and'being apertured to permit the liquid to enter the space between the pipe and tunnel walls, and means for preventing the flow. of liquid longitudinally of the pipe through said space.

2. A tunnel for the pass e of liquid,

. comprising confining Walls t at are substantially impervious to the liquid, a pipe for containing and directing the body of the liquid flowing through the tunnel, said pipe being located within the tunnel walls in spaced relation thereto and being apertured to permit the liquid to enter the space between the pipe and tunnel walls, and means oeame comprising a bore having confining walls that are substantially impervious to liquid,

a pipe located in the bore and being of less cross sectional area than the space for containing and directing the, body of the liquid flowing through the tunnel, said pipe being located within the tunnel walls in spaced relation thereto and being apertured to permit the liquid to enter the space between said pipe and bore walls, and. means for preventing the flow of liquid through said space longitudinally of the pipe.

4. A conduit for thepassage of fluid comprising an outer substantially impervious wall, a lining spaced from the outer wall and through which the fluid flows, and means for maintaining a substantially quiescent body of fluid at a pressure substantially equal to the outward pressure of the flowing fluid, between the lining and the wall, to

substantially balance said outward pressure against the lining.

s In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALTEN S. MILLER.

Witnesses:

EMILE GUILLANDER, ROBERT O. LUQUEER. 

